


Just My Everything

by punk_rock_yuppie



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Asexual Character, Canon Compliant, M/M, Pre-slash/implied slash, Trans Character, minor/vague mentions of dysphoria, trans Jughead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 09:43:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9602210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punk_rock_yuppie/pseuds/punk_rock_yuppie
Summary: “It’s not a headache,” Jughead shouts back. “Loud noises aren’t going to make it any worse.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> anon on tumblr sent in the prompt "sick," and i used it as a chance to try my hand at writing trans jughead. expect to see more of this from me, bc i'm in love with it. 
> 
> enjoy!

**To: Anchovie**  
_10:45am  
__i'm dying. if you don’t see me at school on monday, it’s because i died_

**From: Anchovie**  
_10:55am  
__I’ll be right over._

Jughead flops onto his back with a heavy sigh. That’s not exactly what he meant to have happen, but… well, he’s not really wanting to say no to some company. He drops his phone off the side of his bed and rolls over, hugging his stomach. He muffles a groan into his pillow and blinks back tears. Maybe he oughta text Archie back, tell him to stay away. It’s bad enough to deal with this every month, Jughead isn’t sure he wants to face his best friend while doing so. The first few days are always the worst and he’s thankful it’s at least a weekend so he doesn’t have to suffer through classes, too.

He rolls, wincing as he goes, and reaches around for his phone again. When it’s not immediately under his fingertips, he curses. It’s too much work to lean over his bed and really go searching, so he leaves it. Maybe he’ll just tell Archie to leave once he’s here; a dick move, perhaps, but Jughead is pretty sure he’s allowed to be a jerk every now and then.

He reaches for Midol and his bottle of water and tries to doze while he waits.

 

 

_knock knock_

 

Jughead groans. “I changed my mind. Go away.”

Archie doesn’t reply except to knock again, softly.

“It’s not a headache,” Jughead shouts back. “Loud noises aren’t going to make it any worse.”

His door opens slowly and the heavenly sent of food wafts into the room. Jughead wants to sit up but he knows it’ll only hurt more than it’s worth. He turns his gaze toward Archie and makes grabby hands.

Archie just grins. “I’ve got two of all your faves, and there’s a spare shake in the freezer, too. For later.” He sits at the foot of the bed and starts to unpack the food. He hands over the fries first, and Jughead starts on those while Archie divvies up the piles of food. “Your mom said heat helps, right? She mentioned there’s a heating pad downstairs if you wanna use it.”

Jughead munches silently for a few minutes. “Would it be a pain for you to go and grab it?”

Archie is up and off the bed in an instant. “Not at all, Jug.” He darts from the room without further ado and Jughead watches him go. He eats quietly, relishing the salt in his mouth and how the fatty, greasy, good-bad- _wonderful_ food settles the rage in his gut. Not in his uterus, but at least his stomach will be happy for a little while.

Archie returns with the plain white heating pad in hand, and starts to set it up without a word. He drops down beside Jughead’s bed and finds the plug-in easily, before passing the pad to his friend. Jughead takes it, presses it low on his stomach and hips, and sighs with relief.

He feels faintly embarrassed. Not that Archie doesn’t know, but… things are still tentative between them—still many burgers and many days left to sort everything out. It’s been about four months or so since Archie even last had to deal with this, with Jughead in this state. Not that ‘deal with’ is the right term; Archie has never treated it like a chore, just like something he’s meant to do.

“Archie?” Jughead asks while throwing his arm over his eyes to stem the flood of tears. Hormones, _honestly_. Yuck.

“Yeah, Jug?”

“Thank you.” He peeks out to catch a glimpse of Archie’s sweet, dimpled smile.

“Of course, dude.” Archie pats Jughead’s knee before taking his spot, cross-legged, at the foot of the bed. “Want me to put in a movie?”

Jughead shrugs. “You pick.” He loses himself in the food, even going so far as to sit up a little bit to wolf down three burgers by the time Archie has a movie in. It’s something silly, older, good for background noise on a murky Saturday afternoon spent in bed.

“How...” Archie looks from Jughead to the TV and back again. “How’s it been, lately?”

A swell of affection crashes like waves inside Jughead’s chest. “It’s been okay, I guess.” He bites his tongue hard to keep from saying too much. Saying things about how it was so much worse without Archie there, how for a while Jughead honestly didn’t want to get out of bed and face the day without hearing his best friend call him ‘dude,’ at least once. Jughead bites his tongue to keep all sorts of confessions at bay.

“Jug?” Archie has moved closer and is reaching out hesitantly. “You know you can tell me anything?” His grin is guilty and endearing. “I probably deserve whatever you’re wanting to dish out.”

Jughead laughs, wet and soft, and shoves at Archie’s shoulder. “Weirdo.”

Silence stretches; Archie settles against the wall the bed is pressed up against, and lays his legs over Jughead’s. They sit and idly watch the movie for a while, but don’t speak again until Archie gives Jughead the last of his onion rings.

“It sucked without you.” Jughead admits quietly, onion ring poised at his lips. “It was…” He hiccups and sets the food aside. “It was _awful_.” He looks over at Archie. “I didn’t even realize how much I needed _this_ ,” he gestures to the food wrappers strewn around, “until… you were gone.”

Jughead pauses to turn up the heat on the pad and holds it tight to his stomach. “I… Crap, man.” He presses the heels of his hands to his eyes and laughs unhappily. “I had no idea.” There’s a lot left unspoken in his words; he could—can, _has_ filled pages upon pages with his thoughts on this. On his gender, and Archie’s place in making it all suck a little less. “I was so angry.”

When Jughead drops his hands back to his stomach, Archie has inched closer. They’re side by side on the bed now, pressed together hip to thigh. Archie reaches for one of Jughead’s hand and links their fingers.

“I’m so sorry, Jughead.” Archie presses their shoulders together. “I thought about it a lot, too, y’know. I wondered how you were doing in general, but with this… this especially.”

Jughead smiles and shakes his head. “You’re one of a kind, Archie Andrews.”

“You too, Juggie.” Archie grins.

They settle against the pillows, slumping further and further down until they’re both lightly dozing while the movie plays on.

“Jug?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you, y’know.”

Their hands are still linked between them; they’re each on their sides, facing one another. Jughead keeps his eyes closed tight and tries to regulate his breathing.

“Yeah?” He says again.

“Yeah. And I’m sorry.” Archie sighs. “For all of it. Not just for ditching you, for ditching this. For everything.”

Jughead lets out a long, slow breath. “I forgive you.” When Jughead opens his eyes again, Archie is staring back in shock. “What?”

“I didn’t think…”

“Oh come on, you had to know I’d forgiven you at the football game. I’m not really one for grudges.”

Archie laughs. “Yeah, but. You have every right to be pissed.”

“I know I do,” Jughead replies matter-of-factly. “I just don’t want to be pissed anymore. It takes too much work.” As if on cue, he starts to blink heavily. He lets himself melt into the pillow, and maybe he melts a little closer to Archie, too. “Thank you for coming.”

“Anytime. I mean it.”

“Even when we’re in college, across the country from each other?” Jughead’s eyes slip shut as he speaks.

“Well, no.” Archie waits until Jughead opens one eye to peer at him. “No way we’re gonna go to college that far apart. I’d never survive. And who would buy you all the food you could dream of?”

Jughead snorts. “Archie Andrews, you’re my hero,” he drawls. He squeezes their hands, as though to remind them both of the touch. “I love you too, Archie.”

Dry, warm lips land on his forehead gently. “I know, Jug. Go ahead n’sleep. I’ll be here.”

“’Kay.”


End file.
